Treatment of hosiery



Patented Aug. 16 1949 UNITED-STATE TREATMENT OF HOSIERY Albert Mellor, Ralph James Mann, Donald Finlayson, and Albert William Morledge-Hadfield, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware 7 No Drawing. Application October 9, 1945, Serial No. 621,379. In Great Britain October 30, 1944 This invention relates to textile materials and especially to light textile fabrics andparticularly light knitted fabrics of the kind of which hosiery is constituted.

Knitted hosiery of silk has long-been highly valued on account of its apparent transparency or .sheerness when on the wearer and the uniformity obtainable in respect of thisand other properties, for example lustre. It is very difficult if not impossible to secure these properties in the same degree in hosiery and other textile fabrics made from less expensive yarns of cotton or artificial filaments, for example those of regenerated cellulose. These artificial filaments include those obtained from viscose or from cuprammonium cellulose solutions and those obtained by saponifying cellulose ester filaments substantially completely.

We have now found that a great improvement in sheerness and uniformity of appearance of textile. materials and especially of light weight fabrics, for example knitted or woven fabrics having a weight of less than 2 ounces per sq. yard, can be secured by finishing them with a small proportion of a drying oil for example linseedoil or tung oil. After impregnation the material can be hung'in the air so as to dry the oil by oxidation.

Preferably, more particularly in thecase of cellulose materials, the textile material is first sub- J'ected to the clarifying treatment described in our co-pending U. S. application Serial No. 621,378, of even date. This treatment involves subjecting the materials to the combined action of water and hydrophobe liquid. By this preliminary treatment it is possible to enhance very considerably the desired effects. The hydrophobe liquid includes aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons, for example, benzene, toluene, xylene, solvent naphtha or lightfractions of petroleum.

5 Claims. (01. 1114-56) 2 while in a softened condition, for example While they are under the influence of steam or hot water, and thereafter saponifying them substantially completely. By applying the oiling treatment to such materials a very great improvement indeed can be secured as regards the sheerness and other properties. For examplewhere the hosiery has already been coloured as 'is'usually the case the limited application of drying oil'ree sults in a considerable apparent deepening, of colour so that to obtain a particular shade in the finished material a smaller proportion of dye can be employed than would otherwise be vnecessary. It is possible that the oiling treatment greatly reduces the surface reflection of light by the ma-.- terial. Further the oiled material shows less tendency to develop ladders than does the untreated material.

The desired effects can be obtained with quite small proportions of the drying oil, for example from 10 to 35% e. g. about 20 or based on the weight of the material, can be used. Smaller or greater proportions can however be employed, for instance proportions as low as 10%. The propor- 5 tions employed can be such as merely to coat the yarn of which the fabric is made and should not be sufiicient to close the interstices of the fabric. To effect such closure a proportion of the order of 200% is usually necessary.

It'is' convenient to apply the drying oil to the hosiery or other textile material as a solution in a volatile solvent therefor. vIn this way uniform distribution of the oil throughout the textile material can be readily secured. Thus a solution of a drying oil in benzene and of about 10% strength by volume can be employed. The oil may also be applied as an aqueous emulsion.

If desired the application of the oil can be combined with the clarifying treatment referred to above and described in our co-pending U. S. application S. No. 621,378, the oil being applied in solution in the hydrophobe liquid used, in conjunction With water, to treat the materials.

Suitable solvents for the drying oil are aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons, for example the benzene mentioned above, toluene, xylene, solvent naphtha or light fractions of petroleum. Again halogenated hydrocarbons can be employed for example carbon tetrachloride or perchlorethylene. Solutions of drying oils in these solvents are suitable for application to the materials whether used as part of the clarifying treatment described in our above mentioned co-pending application or whether applied in a separate operation after the clarifying treatment.

In place of drying oils other substances capable of yielding a water-insoluble film on the filaments of the textile material particularly such as are soluble in organic solvents and can be applied as solutions in .hydrophobe organic liquids. Examples of suchother substances are natural resins and synthetic resins of the alkyd type whether oil-modified or not, resins of the polyvinyl acetal type, and those obtained by alkylati-ngurea formaldehyde condensation products or melamine formaldehyde condensation products. Againvarnishes of the resin/drying oil type can be em ployed. These can be diluted with volatile organic liquid and applied in the same manner as the simple solutions of drying oils referred to above.

The new treatment is of especial value in the case of cellulose textiles whether of natural orregenerated cellulose. Thus it can be applied to cotton materials or to materials of yarns of cellulose regenerated from viscose or cuprammonium solutions of cellulose or obtained by saponific'ation of cellulose ester yarns. It has been found of particular value in the case of textiles of filaments of high tenacity e. g. above 2 grams per denier, made by spinning viscose solutions or cuprammonium solutions of cellulose and stretching the filaments substantially when partially but not completely set or made by stretching cellulose acetate. or other cellulose ester filaments in a softened condition for example under the in-fl-uence of a hot aqueous medium, e. g. wet steam or'hot water, and subsequently saponif-ying them substantially completely. The treatment can be applied to fabrics consisting Wholly or in part of such stretched and saponified filaments. The process can, however, be applied to textile materials of filaments other than cellulose filaments e. g. to materials of natural silk or of cellulose acetate or other cellulose ester or ether-filaments, including cellulose ester or ether filaments which have been stretched substantially while in a softened condition: e. g. while under the influence of wet. steam or hot water, and cellulose ester or ether filaments produced by a wet spinning process. e

Example 1- Hosiery dyed in a medium, tan shade and knitted from 65 denier yarn obtained by stretch.- ing cellulose acetate yarn to. about 10. times its length in wet steam andthereafter. saponifying it substantially completely is wetted with a. mix..- ture of 100 parts by volume of acetone; with. 10 parts by volume of Water. The hosiery is. then drained and steepedinbenzene until the material appears clear therein. This may require a 'few r hours. The hosiery is then dried and oiled by immersion in a mixture; of 10 Volumes of boiled linseed oil and 100 volumes of benzene. It is then squeezed so that it retains about 2 /2 times its weight of the oil solution and hung in a steam heated cupboard at 75-85 C. for about, 24 hours. The result is a considerable increase in the sheer;- ness of the hose and a great improvement asregards uniformity of appearance. Further the colour appears much deeperthan in the untreated hose. These properties are not materially affected by scouring for-15 minutes-in agram per litre soap solution at 65 0.

Example 2 Dyed hosiery of the kind'referred t'o iii-Example 1. is subjected to the same clarifying treatment as that .described in that example and is then impregnated with a. solution containing; grams-0f the thermoplastic resin soldby-I; 'C; I: under the 4 trade name Bedafin 285 X per 100 cos. of benzene. After squeezing, the material is dried, the results being very similar to those obtained according to Example 1.

Example 3 Dyed hosiery knitted from normal '75 denier filament cellulose acetate yarn (i. e. dry spun yarn which has not been subjected to substantial stretching after spinning) is immersed in a mixture of 10 volumes of boiled linseed oil and 100 volumes of benzene. It is then squeezed and dried as in Example 1. The sheerness is thereby increased, the colour rendered more intense, and the tendency to ladder reduced.

Having described our invention, What we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Process of imparting sheerness and uniformity of appearance to hosiery of textile filaments made by stretching cellulose ester filaments while in a softened condition and saponifying them substantially completely, which comprises Wetting the hosiery with an aqueous liquid and subjecting it while moist with water, to theaction of a hyd'rophobe organic liquid selected from the group consisting of benzene, toluene, xylene, solvent naphtha, light fractions of petroleum, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene and methylcyclohexanol until it appears clear therein and then uniformly impregnating it with from 10% to of its weight of a drying oil and causing the latter to dry without closing the interstices in said hosiery.

2. Process of imparting sheerness and uniformity of appearance tohosiery of textile filaments made by stretching cellulose acetate filaments while in a softened condition andsap'onify ing them substantially completely, which comprises wetting the hosiery with anaqueous liquid and subjecting it while moist with water, to the action of a-hydrophob'e organic liquid selected from the group consisting ofbenzene, toluene, xylene; sol' vent naphtha, light fractions of petroleum, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethy-lene and methyl cyclohexanol until it appears clear therein and then uniformly impregnating it with a solution of a drying oil in a volatile organic li'qui'd so-that the hosiery carries from 10% to 35% of its weight of 'dryi'ng'oil and causing the latter to-drywithout closing the interstices in said hosiery.

3; Process ofimparting sheerness and uniform ity of appearance to hosiery of textile filaments made by stretching cellulose acetate filaments while in a softened condition and saponifying them substantially completely, which comprises wetting the hosiery with an aqueous'liquid and subjecting itwhile' moist with water, to the action of benzene until it appears clear therein and then uniformly impregnating it with from 10% to 35% of itsweight of a drying oil and causingthe latter todry without closing the interstices in said hosiery-1 4". Process accordingto claim 1, wherein the hosiery is knitted from yarns of filaments made by stretching cellulose ester yarns under the influenceof a hot aqueous medium and thereafter saponifying them substantially completely.

5. Process for increasing the sheerness of hosiery knitted from yarns of filaments made by stretching cellulose ester yarns under the influence of a hot aqueous medium and thereafter saponifyin'g them substantially completely, which comprises damping: thev hosiery with water, steeping itin benzene" untili it appears clear therein,

. an'dthenlimpregnatingi it with a. benzene" solution 5 of boiled linseed oil and evaporating ofi the ben- 'zene so as to leave on the hosiery about 25 per cent of its Weight of the linseed oil without closing the interstices in said hosiery. ALBERT MELLOR. V RALPH JAMES MANN. DONALD FINLAYSON. ALBERT WILLIAM MORLEDGE-I-IADFIELD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7 138,302 Wagner Apr. 29, 1873 217,604 Francis July 15, 1879 682,367 Rosell Sept. 10, 1901 1,236,959 McIntosh Aug. 14, 1917 OTHER REFERENCES Randolph, Eliminating Bubbles in Fabric Impregnation C. & M. E. 35 306 (N0. 5). 

